Developer ProSIM Company and publisher Shrapnel Games are pleased to announce that a playable demo for the upcoming ProSIM title, The Star and the Crescent, is now available for the Windows OS family. The Star and the Crescent is the next chapter in the hyper-realistic ATF series of games, focusing on the Arab-Israeli conflicts of the past decades, along with a look at possible future conflicts in the region. It features two complete scenarios from the full retail game, the Chinese Farm battle from the '73 Yom Kippur War, and the battle of Jenin from the 1967 Six-Day War.

The Star and the Crescent, designed by PanClan Game Design (the same design team that brought you Raging Tiger: The Second Korean War), takes gamers to one of the most volatile hotspots on the globe and allows them to refight some of the most brutal armored battles of the past fifty years. While there have been a handful of other computer wargames that have tackled the subject of the Arab-Israeli wars none have approached the level of high fidelity that ProSIM's ATF engine is capable of delivering.

Already known for their highly realistic simulation quality of gameplay (easily the best commercial simulation of modern warfare you'll find on your PC), ProSIM and PanClan have really pulled out all the stops to make The Star and the Crescent one of the most engaging wargames you'll ever play. To begin with, everything you've come to know and love about the ATF series is still present. From the intense accurate weapon platform modeling, to the ultra-detailed maps (based on real world Soviet-era maps of the region), to the deadly AI, all the signature features you've come to expect are present. And just as you've come to expect each new release to build upon the previous releases, you'll appreciate all the new features and details built into The Star and the Crescent.

The maps are the best looking of all the ATF games, allowing gamers both the chance to immerse themselves in the virtual battlefield, and to grant perfect situational awareness of the unfolding battle. Players can choose from a more colorful version of the maps or a pure military map style, both styles featuring the same level of detail of course, just different aesthetics. And speaking of details, The Star and the Crescent boasts discreet structures, allowing individual buildings and defensive structures to be present. These structures can block line of sight, and provide defensive benefits.

Close air support played an integral part of the Arab-Israeli wars and it has been recreated in The Star and the Crescent. Ground support and air defense is extensively modeled, along with a newly rebuilt model of close air support weaponry to better recreate the effects of iron bombs. Additionally, the new model allows users to generate more realistic bursting direct fire weapon systems, such as direct lay mortars.

Of course you can't model an air defense network without modeling radar, and The Star and the Crescent features a plethora of radar options. From aircraft radar to air defense radar, to even counterbattery and waterborne radar, the battlefield positively thrums with detection devices.

The Star and the Crescent is slated to go gold in September. It will be available for Windows and features both single and multi-player modes of play, and a full featured scenario creation tool. In the meantime you may download the demo at http://www.shrapnelgames.com/prosim/tsatc/6.htm or pre-order through the Gamers Front at http://www.gamersfront.com/cgi-bin/store/category.cgi?item=00117&type=store and save $5.00. But hurry, the pre-order special will expire on September 10th.

For more information on this game or any of the other superb strategy titles that Shrapnel Games publishes, please visit www.shrapnelgames.com